Recent Profile Visitors

It just depends. My males LOVE puppies and I have to work hard to keep them away until the bitch is ready for pack introductions. Since I have so many puppies coming and going from my house, all dogs are trustworthy around them.

If he can't get to visitors and everyone is safe, you are at an advantage. Just have a bucket of treats ready to go. Have visitors ignore him (do not talk to him or make eye contact). When visitors show up, toss him extra special treats. He will associate visitors with getting treats. As he gets better, specifically toss him treats when he is quiet, praising him for being calm/quite and giving him a gentle lie down command if he starts to bark or bounce.

I just submit an estimate, they pay directly. Our local ECC hospital also accepts Trupanion, so I only have to come up with a little money for their deposit in case of a major accident or illness. My dogs wear their insurance ID tags on their collars, so if they are ever lost and end up in a clinic, they know all expenses would be covered.
I have no per incident or annual maximum.
Sorry to hear about Kenzi. I had a dog needing $5,000 in ortho surgery about 10 years ago. Wiped me out financially at the time, which is why I now have my dogs insured.

I like TruPanion because they have direct pay, meaning I don't have to come up with 10s of thousands of dollars to pay a bill then wait for reimbursement.
I like that their 10% pay after the deductible is based on an incident or diagnosis, not per year. So if my pet has a chronic condition that will cost $2000 a year to treat, I am liable for the first $1000 then only 10% after that, for the life of the pet.
I like that they allow for genetic conditions such as HD, OCD, epilepsy, etc as long as the dog is insured prior to diagnosis.
I like that they do not exclude working or breeding dogs and will even cover reproductive emergencies (if the dog has a breeding rider).

Given that the average American doesn’t have $400 in case of a medical emergency of their own, I think insurance is a fantastic idea. (Info stolen from a report on the state of human insurance in the USA.) Of course, I also understand this means those people aren’t super likely to have a lot of disposable income to spend on their pets.
I pay about just over $100 a month for 4 dogs. Sports/working injuries covered. Breeding emergencies covered. Genetic conditions covered. I also have a higher delectable, but doG forbid I had a $40,000 bill for some spectacular injury or illness, I would only be liable for about $5000 of it. (I used to do ECC and handed out estimates to clients averaging a few thousand but as high as $60,000.)

You knew your post would start a fight, therefore, the only logical conclusion people can draw is that you wanted a fight.
If you don't have at least a basic understanding of genetics of the breed already, you should not be planning to breed. I would give that same advice to ANYONE wanting to breed, including those who have all the best intentions and are planning a mating of top notch working dogs. You do that research BEFORE you make the decision to breed your bitch. It takes years of studying not only genetics but also pedigrees to make informed breeding choices. Otherwise, you are flying blind.
Inbreeding? Funny you brought that up since you say your bitch is merle. Do you know the history of the color in the breed? Do you know that virtually all merles in the world are line bred on the dogs from Sadghyl kennel? Have you read the essay that the breeder behind that kennel wrote lamenting the high rate of epilepsy she was producing?
I have friends who breed sport and show Border Collies. They are good people trying to produce good dogs. They do their thing, I do mine. I will not, however, buy a pup from them or refer a buyer to them who wants a real Border Collie. Too many people sell color bred pups to people wanting/needing a working dog claiming that because it has ancestors who worked that the pups will work. That just isn't the case. Please do not deceive people and sell your pups to working homes. Be honest and sell them as pets.
There is a huge difference in having the right to do something and something being morally right. You have the right to free speech. Yelling racist, derogatory or hateful remarks is, however, morally wrong. You have the right to breed your dog. Breeding her without approaching it in a responsible manner is morally wrong.

I realize I haven't posted here in a very long time. I've been busy with work, training dogs, taking care of the farm. I have a new pack member, Gilly, aka Gillyflower, Gillyweed. She is sired by my Open dog, Tweed, and out of an imported bitch. She is adorable, devilish, intelligent and goofy. I am looking forward to starting her on sheep this fall.

In ten years of prescribing it, I've never seen a dog experience side effects. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on my own pets. That said, you can't use the higher dose meant for motion sickness more than 5 days in a row (or you will see side effects). I would do a lot of work getting her happy in the crate in the car with it not moving and have faith that she will eventually outgrow it.
At 2 years old, Holly still drools excessively when she realizes she is going on a car ride, but she never vomits and she genuinely wants to go. I think it's just excitement at this point. Gilly hasn't drooled on car rides in months. (OMG, another bad person who hasn't shared photos of their new puppy!)